


I Do

by Jo (jmathieson)



Series: Tangents and Intersections ~ Kink Bingo 2013 [86]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint is a big huge sap, Community: kink_bingo, Definitely not AoS, First Dance, Jossed, M/M, Oaths & Vows, SHIELD Husbands, Tears, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmathieson/pseuds/Jo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Phil get married.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Do

**Author's Note:**

> Kink Bingo Round Six (2013) ~ Tears

"Nervous?" Phil asked, as he watched Clint run his hand through his hair for the sixth time in two minutes.

"Hell, yeah! You?"

"Yes. It'll be fine." Phil smiled, his own nervousness showing through a little, and that reassured Clint more than anything else. Clint grinned back.

"I know, 'cause you'll be right there next to me."

"And you'll be right there next to me. You look great."

"Thanks. You too."

Clint was wearing a deep purple silk shirt with black dress pants. Phil was wearing a navy blue suit with a blue and purple striped tie. 

"You already gave the rings to Jasper, right?" Clint asked, knowing that Phil had, but needing to double-check.

"Yes. This morning."

"OK."

Clint opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by a loud crack of thunder from outside.

"Hey, do you think that means..."

"It's a cloudless day, so I expect it does. Someone will probably come tell us."

"Yeah. Cool, I'm really glad he made it." Clint was now making a conscious effort not to fuss with his hair any further.

Sure enough a couple of minutes later Natasha appeared to tell them that Thor had arrived and extended the blessings of Frigga and Odin on their union.

"Well, good. Are we about ready to get this show on the road?" Clint asked, looking from Nat to Phil.

"I think so," said Phil.

"I'll go ahead and tell them you're coming. I... I love you both and I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Natasha."

"I love you too, Nat." Clint said, and pulled her into a quick hug before stepping back.

"Give me five minutes, and then come on up."

As the door closed behind Nat, Phil pulled Clint into a fierce hug.

Clint cradled the back of Phil's head in one hand,

"Hey, are you OK?"

"Fine. Great. I just can't believe this is finally really happening, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I love you so much, Phil."

"I love you too." And they spent the next couple of minutes kissing passionately.

"So."

"Yeah."

"Let's go get married."

~~~~~~

Clint and Phil walked through the doors of the big penthouse lounge of Stark Tower. There was a buffet table to one side, and some light jazz music was playing softly. Their friends and the Mayor were gathered over by the windows, and they all stopped chatting and turned to look as Phil and Clint came in. 

There was one person he didn't recognize, Clint realized, a woman who was standing next to Cap and had been deep in conversation with him when they came in. Phil saw where Clint was looking and whispered,

"I'll explain later," in his ear.

Clint reached out to take Phil's hand and squeezed it firmly, both to show him that it was OK, and also because he desperately wanted to be holding Phil's hand right now. Phil squeezed back. Together they walked across the room and stood with their friends.

"Ah, Mr. Mayor, thanks very much for doing this," said Clint.

"It's the least I could do. This must be Phil."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," said Clint, realizing that Phil had still been in hospital when The Avengers had been given the key to the city by the Mayor after the Battle of Manhattan. "Mayor Riva, Phil Coulson." 

Phil let go of Clint's hand to shake the Mayor's.

"So, shall we get this show on the road?"

"Yes, please," said Phil.

"If everyone could please take their places," said the Mayor, turning his back to the windows, and gesturing for Phil and Clint to stand in front of him. 

Nat stepped up to Clint's right and Jasper to Phil's left. Nick Fury took up a position on one end of a rough semi-circle, with Maria Hill beside him. Next to them were Pepper and Tony, then Bruce, then Steve Rogers and the woman with him. Bracketing the other end was Thor.

"Welcome everyone. It is my great honour to be here with you today to celebrate the wedding of Clinton Francis Barton and Phillip Julian Coulson, two men whose courage and valor is as great as their love for each other.

The Mayor turned to Clint.

"Clint Barton, is it your intention to join with Phillip Coulson in marriage, to be his friend and his companion, his comfort and his strength, his joy and his love; today and all the days of your life?"

"Yes." Clint's voice was rough and his answer came out mangled. He cleared his throat. "Yes, it is."

The Mayor smiled, and turned to Phil,

"Phil Coulson, is it your intention to join with Clinton Barton in marriage, to be his friend and his companion, his comfort and his strength, his joy and his love; today and all the days of your life?"

"Yes, it is." Phil's voice was soft but steady.

"If you would please turn and face each other," the Mayor said to Clint and Phil, and then to the rest, "Clint and Phil have some things they would like to say to each other now."

Phil looked down as he took Clint's hands in both of his, gathering himself. When he looked back up into Clint's face, he was shocked. Clint was smiling a big, wide, happy smile, but there were tears streaming down his cheeks. Phil had never, in all the years they'd known each other, seen Clint cry but here he was, looking at Phil with a huge grin and eyes brimming over with unashamed tears.

"Clint..." Phil didn't know what to do.

"It's OK," Clint said. "Go ahead," and squeezed Phil's hands.

Phil took a deep breath, swallowed, squeezed back, and started to speak.

"When I first met you, I thought you were brash, impulsive, intelligent, and talented. Over the next few years I got to know you, and learned that you were also trustworthy, honourable, and fiercely loyal. I considered myself very lucky to call you my friend. Then I did something dumb: I fell for you, head over heels." Phil smiled as he felt tears welling up in his own eyes. 

"So one day I took my courage in both hands, and I told you how I felt, and to my great joy, you felt the same. Things haven't always been easy for us since that day. We almost lost each other, but we were lucky enough to get a second chance." Phil could feel tears running down his own cheeks, and he cleared his throat so that he could continue.

"I love you with all my heart, Clint, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Phil brought Clint's hands up to his lips and bowed his head to kiss them. He tried in vain to pull himself together a little, and smiled back up at Clint through his tears.

"Clint?" said the Mayor.

Clint cleared his throat, and as he did there was a quiet sob from somewhere to his left. He didn't look, he didn't take his eyes from Phil's for a fraction of a second.

"Phil, the very first time we met, you gave me your respect. You treated me good, better than anyone had treated me in a long time. At first I thought it was a tactic you were using to manage your new asset, then I thought it was just because you were a decent guy. I finally accepted that it was because you actually respected me. That was big. Once we'd been working together for a while, you gave me your trust. You trusted me not to screw up. You trusted me to have your back. You even trusted me to make the right call." Clint flicked his eyes in a tiny glance at Natasha.

"That was huge. No one had ever trusted me like that before. It made me want to trust you back, so I did, because I knew you'd never betray it. Then you gave me your friendship, and that meant more to me than I can ever explain. Having someone that I knew I could count on, no matter what... It changed my life. Made me feel like maybe I was... worth something."

"Then one day you walked into my quarters and looked me in the eye and offered me your heart. I was so scared that I tried to run away, but you wouldn't let me. Instead you showed me that you were scared too, that it was OK to be scared, that we could be scared together."

"Not too long after that, standing under an oak tree in a park, you told me that you loved me. That was the best day of my life. Until today. I love you Phil, today and forever, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Clint mirrored Phil's earlier gesture, bringing Phil's hands to his lips and kissing his fingers softly. Phil couldn't help but reach out one finger to stroke Clint's wet cheek as he did.

There was another soft sob from behind them, and the sound of someone blowing their nose into a tissue. The Mayor cleared his throat.

"May I please have the rings?"

Jasper took a small box out of his jacket pocket, opened it, and handed it to the Mayor. The Mayor took out Clint's ring and handed it to Phil.

"Phillip Coulson, please repeat after me as you place the ring on Clint's finger: 'I Phillip Julian Coulson, do take you Clinton Francis Barton, to be my lawfully wedded husband.'"

Phil looked at the ring in his hand for a second, then back up into Clint's eyes. 

"I Phillip Julian Coulson, do take you Clinton Francis Barton," Phil's voice was still soft, not quiet, but oh so gentle, as he slipped the ring onto Clint's finger, "...to be my lawfully wedded husband." His voice broke on the last word, and it came out as a whisper. Phil watched the tears roll down Clint's face and drip off his jaw, making dark splotches on his shirt. Phil knew that his own face looked exactly the same.

"Clint," the Mayor said quietly, handing him Phil's ring. "Clinton Barton, please repeat after me as you place the ring on Phil's finger: I Clinton Francis Barton, do take you Phillip Julian Coulson, to be my lawfully wedded husband.'"

Clint cleared his throat again, but his voice was slow and strong as he said, "I Clinton Francis Barton, do take you Phillip Julian Coulson, to be my lawfully wedded husband." He slipped the ring onto Phil's finger, and his smile, impossibly, got even wider. He held Phil's hands in a tight grip, both of them rubbing their thumbs back and forth over each other's rings.

"If the witness could please step forward," said the Mayor. Nick Fury stepped over to a small table to the Mayor's left and took the proffered pen. Neither Phil nor Clint so much as glanced over at them, their eyes were firmly fixed on each other, still shining with tears.

Nick stepped back to his position, and the Mayor to his.

"By the power vested in me by the City and State of New York, I declare Clinton Francis Barton and Philip Julian Coulson to be joined in marriage. Congratulations to you both. If you'd like to ki - "

The Mayor hadn't finished the syllable when Clint was pulling Phil into his arms and kissing him deeply. Phil's right arm wrapped tightly around Clint's back and his left hand was in Clint's hair. Clint cradled the back of Phil's neck with long, strong fingers and Phil could feel the warm metal of the wedding ring against his skin. Clint's other arm was tight around his waist. 

Laughter and applause erupted around them, and they smiled into the kiss, finally pulling back just enough to speak.

"You OK?" Phil asked.

"OK? Phil I'm fantastic. We're married!"

"Yes. Yes we are. I love you."

"I love you."

Phil gave him one last tight squeeze and loosed his arms, turning towards their friends. Jasper was the first to give Phil a solid hug, and then offer him a white handkerchief. 

"Thanks, Jaz." Phil wiped his face and handed the handkerchief to Clint, who was being hugged by Nat. One by one their friends came up to congratulate them. Nick, his eye shining brightly, shook both their hands. Maria dabbed at her own tears and hugged them both. Tony's eyes were red and Pepper's face was still wet when they came up. Bruce just smiled widely and told them 'congratulations' as he shook their hands. Thor enveloped them both in a bear hug and boomed his family's blessings over their heads. Steve, and the woman with him, came up last.

"Thank you Steve, for everything," Phil said as they did.

"You're welcome, congratulations."

Phil hugged the woman, and then turned to Clint.

"Clint, I'd like you to meet my sister Rachel. Rachel," Clint heard the very slight pause, "this is my husband, Clint."

Clint looked wide-eyed at Phil.

"I... I called her to tell her about us, and the wedding," Phil explained, "and she wanted to come. I... thought you'd want her to, so we made the arrangements. Steve picked her up at the airport this morning for me."

"Oh, Phil!" Clint's eyes shone brightly as he turned to Rachel and put out his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, ma'am. Thank you so much for coming."

"It is lovely to meet you, Clint, please call me Rachel. Congratulations. Welcome to our family."

Clint nearly started to cry again at that, and Phil put an arm around his waist and held him close.

"Thank you," Clint managed to choke out.

"Thank you for coming, Rachel," said Phil, his voice rich with sincerity.

"You're my brother, Phillip, of course I came."

Phil was spared having to say anything else by a very loud Tony Stark handing out glasses of champagne and announcing that it was time for a toast to the happy couple. 

"Don't worry, it's not going to be me, Fury here pulled rank on the rest of us for the privilege." That got Tony a mild glare, but Nick took a step towards the middle of the room.

"Friends, I just have a couple of things I want to say about Clint Barton and Phil Coulson. That they are two of the bravest, strongest, most loyal and honourable men I have ever had the privilege to know and to work with, goes without saying. Like Phil said, things haven't always been easy for them, but they have met each challenge head on, never backing down and never giving up. I have never in my life seen two people work so hard at honest communication, mutual respect, and the give-and-take that's necessary for a solid relationship. I've also never known two people who were as deeply in love with each other as they are. So on their wedding day, can we all please raise a glass, 'To Clint and Phil'."

Everyone raised their glasses of champagne and drank. There were cries of 'Here here,' and 'Speech!'

"Sorry everyone," Phil said, smiling, "Clint and I have already said pretty much everything we wanted to say, except of course, to thank you all so much for being here today with us." 

That got a smattering of applause and Clint glanced up at the ceiling,

"JARVIS?"

"Now sir?"

"Yes please, JARVIS."

The lights dimmed and strains of synthesized keyboards wafted through the room. A disco-ball effect materialized above where Clint and Phil were standing, and blue and purple lights played across the floor. Clint took Phil's glass out of his hand and handed it to whoever was standing closest to them. He did the same with his own drink and pulled Phil into his arms as the vocals started.

_"I can't fight this feeling any longer, and yet I'm still afraid to let it flow."_

Phil tucked his head over Clint's shoulder and put his arms around him. 

_"What started out as friendship has grown stronger, I only wish I head the strength to let it show."_

Clint cradled the back of Phil's head in his hand, pressing their cheeks close, and whispering, "I love you Phil, I love you so much."

_"'Cause I feel so secure when we're together, you give my life direction, you make everything so clear."_

"One day I'll convince you that you've given me just as much as I've given you, Clint. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be."

_"You're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter's night. And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might."_

Phil kissed Clint, raising a hand to his cheek and caressing it as he kissed him softly again and again and again. 

_"And I can't fight this feeling any more. I've forgotten what I started fighting for."_

As they moved in a small circle on the impromptu dance floor, and the cheesy 80s power ballad swelled, tears came again, streaming down both their cheeks. They pressed their foreheads together and smiled into each other's eyes. 

_"Baby, I can't fight this feeling any more..."_

**Author's Note:**

> The song that Clint and Phil dance to is ["Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd4j1Ms1VYE).
> 
> ~~~~~
> 
> Thanks always to my excellent editors t! and Shazrolane.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at: [Queen of Wands](http://jmathieson-fic.tumblr.com/)


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